as president obama and mitt romney prepare for tonight's crucial debate, our brand new poll numbers show where they stand. >>> mid-air scare. another incident of loose seats on an american airlines flight, and now the company says it knows why. >>> and shock value. daredevil magician david blaine goes high voltage in his latest stunt. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a high stakes debate. all eyes turn to denver for tonight's first presidential debate of the 2012 race, and a new nbc news "wall street journal" poll shows president obama is holding on to his national lead, but not by much. 49% of likely voters favor the president while 46% prefer mitt romney. that's only a 3% edge for obama, which is within the survey's margin of error, but when it comes to a poll of registered voters the president widens his lead over romney to 7 points, 51% to 44. and, finally, four in ten surveyed now say the nation is headed in the right direction. that's the highest amount since june 2009. meanwhile, both candidates took a break from t